Irregular Present Verbs: er, gjør, sier
Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds
These three common verbs don't follow the standard -er rule: 'å gjøre' becomes 'gjør', 'å si' becomes 'sier', and 'å være' becomes 'er'.
- Gjøre (to do/make) drops the -e and becomes 'gjør'. Example: Jeg gjør lekser.
- Si (to say) adds an -er and becomes 'sier'. Example: Hun sier hei.
- Være (to be) is completely irregular and becomes 'er'. Example: Det er bra.
Present Tense Conjugation
| Infinitive | Present Tense | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
|
å være
|
er
|
to be
|
|
å gjøre
|
gjør
|
to do/make
|
|
å si
|
sier
|
to say
|
Meanings
These verbs describe existence, actions, and speech, serving as the foundation for almost every Norwegian sentence.
Existence (Være)
To be or exist.
“Jeg er norsk.”
“Det er en hund.”
Action (Gjøre)
To perform an action or make something.
“Hva gjør du nå?”
“Jeg gjør jobben min.”
Speech (Si)
To communicate verbally.
“Hva sier du?”
“Hun sier ingenting.”
Reference Table
| Form | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
|
Affirmative
|
Subject + Verb
|
Jeg er her.
|
|
Negative
|
Subject + Verb + ikke
|
Jeg er ikke her.
|
|
Question
|
Verb + Subject?
|
Er du her?
|
|
Short Answer
|
Ja/Nei + Verb
|
Ja, det er jeg.
|
طیف رسمیت
Hva gjør De? (Social interaction)
Hva gjør du? (Social interaction)
Hva gjør'u? (Social interaction)
Hva skjer? (Social interaction)
The Irregular Trio
Existence
- er is/am/are
Action
- gjør do/make
Communication
- sier say
مثالها بر اساس سطح
Jeg er glad.
I am happy.
Hva gjør du?
What are you doing?
Hun sier hei.
She says hi.
Det er fint.
It is nice.
Vi er ikke hjemme.
We are not home.
Han gjør leksene sine.
He is doing his homework.
Hva sier læreren?
What does the teacher say?
Er du klar?
Are you ready?
Det gjør ingenting om du kommer sent.
It doesn't matter if you arrive late.
Hun sier at hun er trøtt.
She says that she is tired.
Hvor er det du gjør av nøklene?
Where do you put the keys?
Det er vanskelig å si hva som skjer.
It is hard to say what is happening.
Det er ikke til å tro hva han gjør.
It is unbelievable what he is doing.
Hun sier det er en god idé.
She says it is a good idea.
Hva gjør man i en slik situasjon?
What does one do in such a situation?
Det er sagt at han er en dyktig leder.
It is said that he is a skilled leader.
Det er sjelden man sier noe så direkte.
It is rare that one says something so direct.
Han gjør sitt ytterste for å lykkes.
He does his utmost to succeed.
Det er vanskelig å si seg enig i det.
It is difficult to agree with that.
Hva gjør du for å forbedre deg?
What are you doing to improve yourself?
Det er i sannhet en merkelig ting å si.
It is truly a strange thing to say.
Man gjør vel i å lytte når hun sier noe.
One does well to listen when she says something.
Det er ikke bare hva man gjør, men hvordan.
It is not just what one does, but how.
Hun sier det er uunngåelig.
She says it is inevitable.
بهراحتی اشتباه گرفته میشود
Learners try to add -r to irregular verbs.
Both can mean 'to be' in some contexts.
Both mean 'to make/do'.
اشتباهات رایج
Jeg erer
Jeg er
Hun gjører
Hun gjør
De sierer
De sier
Jeg er ikke
Jeg er ikke
Er du gjør?
Hva gjør du?
Han sier ikke
Han sier ingenting
Det er gjør
Det gjør
Det er sagt
Det sies
Jeg gjør det ikke
Jeg gjør ikke det
Han er sier
Han sier
Det er å si
Det vil si
Han gjør seg
Han gjør seg til
Det sier seg
Det sier seg selv
Hun gjør det
Hun gjør det
الگوهای جملهسازی
Jeg ___ ___.
Hva ___ du?
Det ___ ikke noe.
___ du klar for det?
Real World Usage
Hva gjør du?
Jeg gjør mitt beste.
Det er klart.
Det er så gøy!
Hvor er hotellet?
Hva sier læreren?
Don't conjugate
Watch the spelling
Use them in chunks
Listen to natives
Smart Tips
Check if it's one of the Big Three before adding -r.
Start with the verb.
Put 'ikke' after the verb.
Use 'sier' followed by 'at'.
تلفظ
Gjør
The 'gj' is pronounced like a soft 'y' sound.
Sier
The 'i' is long.
Question
Er du her? ↗
Rising intonation at the end.
حفظ کنید
روش یادسپاری
Remember 'EGS': Er, Gjør, Sier. Think of an 'Egg' that is 'Sier' (sizzling).
تداعی تصویری
Imagine a robot (Gjør) saying (Sier) that it is (Er) a human.
Rhyme
Er, Gjør, Sier, these are the ones, they don't follow rules, they have all the fun!
Story
A robot named Gjøre wanted to be human. He walked up to a person and said 'Er' (I am). The person laughed and said 'Sier' (you say that?). The robot then started to do (gjør) a dance.
شبکه واژگان
چالش
Write 3 sentences using each verb in 5 minutes.
نکات فرهنگی
In Oslo, 'gjør' is often pronounced very clearly.
They might use different verb forms entirely in some contexts.
They often shorten words even more.
These verbs have roots in Old Norse.
شروعکنندههای مکالمه
Hva gjør du i helgen?
Hva sier du til en kaffe?
Hva er det viktigste du gjør på jobb?
Hva gjør man når det er dårlig vær?
موضوعات نگارش
اشتباهات رایج
Test Yourself
Jeg ___ glad.
Hva ___ du?
Find and fix the mistake:
Hun gjører lekser.
Arrange the words in the correct order:
All words placed
Click words above to build the sentence
She says hi.
Answer starts with: Hun...
Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:
De ___ her.
jeg / ikke / er / sulten
Score: /8
تمرینهای عملی
8 exercisesJeg ___ glad.
Hva ___ du?
Find and fix the mistake:
Hun gjører lekser.
du / hva / gjør / ?
She says hi.
å være - ?
De ___ her.
jeg / ikke / er / sulten
Score: /8
سوالات متداول (8)
No, they are the same for all subjects.
Because they don't follow the standard '-r' rule.
Only for 'to be'. Use 'gjør' for actions.
'Gjøre' is the infinitive, 'gjør' is the present.
Add 'ikke' after the verb.
Yes, but these are the most important.
Yes, they are standard in all registers.
Just memorize the three forms: er, gjør, sier.
Scaffolded Practice
1
2
3
4
Mastery Progress
Needs Practice
Improving
Strong
Mastered
In Other Languages
ser, hacer, decir
Norwegian verbs are invariant.
être, faire, dire
Norwegian is much simpler.
sein, tun, sagen
German conjugates, Norwegian doesn't.
desu, suru, iu
Sentence structure is completely different.
kāna, fa'ala, qāla
Norwegian lacks gendered verb endings.
shì, zuò, shuō
Chinese uses tone and particles.
Learning Path
Prerequisites
Connected Grammar
Regular Verb Conjugation
ContrastTo see how most verbs work.
Subject Pronouns
PrerequisiteYou need these to build sentences.
Word Order
Builds OnTo place the verb correctly.
Negation
Builds OnTo make negative sentences.
